Bat Pagoda
Bat Pagoda
Bat Pagoda is the only Khmer pagoda in the Mekong Delta that has preserved its original roof—a double-layered, tiled roof with a tower on top, considered one of the most beautiful features of the pagoda. Each column supporting the roof is topped with a deity figure known locally as Kemnar or Apsara, with hands clasped together as if welcoming visitors. Inside the main hall stands a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha carved from a single block of stone, seated on a throne as tall as two meters. The walls are covered with paintings depicting the life of the Buddha, from his infancy to his ascension into Nirvana.
In the pagoda’s garden are small urns containing the remains of monks who once lived there. At five o’clock every morning, the bats return and hang themselves from the fruit trees in the temple grounds. They never return later than seven or eight in the morning, and they never roost in other pagodas or even in trees outside the temple grounds. Surprisingly, they never touch the fruit in the pagoda garden but instead fly hundreds of kilometers away to feed on fruits growing along the Tien and Hau rivers. The bats seem to know they are in a sacred place, and they always show respect for it.
For this reason, the Mahatup Temple in Soc Trang Province, located in the southwestern part of the Mekong Delta, has come to be known as the Bat Pagoda.
Bat Pagoda is the only Khmer pagoda in the Mekong Delta that has preserved its original roof—a double-layered, tiled roof with a tower on top, considered one of the most beautiful features of the pagoda. Each column supporting the roof is topped with a deity figure known locally as Kemnar or Apsara, with hands clasped together as if welcoming visitors. Inside the main hall stands a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha carved from a single block of stone, seated on a throne as tall as two meters. The walls are covered with paintings depicting the life of the Buddha, from his infancy to his ascension into Nirvana.
In the pagoda’s garden are small urns containing the remains of monks who once lived there. At five o’clock every morning, the bats return and hang themselves from the fruit trees in the temple grounds. They never return later than seven or eight in the morning, and they never roost in other pagodas or even in trees outside the temple grounds. Surprisingly, they never touch the fruit in the pagoda garden but instead fly hundreds of kilometers away to feed on fruits growing along the Tien and Hau rivers. The bats seem to know they are in a sacred place, and they always show respect for it.
For this reason, the Mahatup Temple in Soc Trang Province, located in the southwestern part of the Mekong Delta, has come to be known as the Bat Pagoda.
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